With the advent of sophisticated electronic circuitry, high speed solid state devices, optical techniques, and related hardware, the problem of high labor costs in the production of high quality, high volume industrial parts has begun to be solved. Robots utilizing these sophisticated devices and computing tools have been finding rapidly increasing use in many industries where highly repetitive tedious operations can justify the relatively high expense. Although very sophisticated by standards for robots of only a decade or two ago, industrial robots are still in their infancy in their ability to perform fairly complicated and complex operations. Where only visual orientation is necessary, sophisticated optical devices, such as vidicon tubes, laser scanners, and the like, have provided practical and excellent abilities for robots to solve maneuvering and space oriented problems.
However, state-of-the-art industrial robots are severly deficient in tactile sensing means. No satisfactory, simple, efficient, low-cost means have yet been devised to serve the purpose of the human hand in its ability to provide information relating to object shape, grasping force, slipping motion, etc.
The medical profession, similarly to highly automated industries, has also made great progress in providing useful protheses to replace missing or disabled body parts for human patients. Such protheses utilize strong light weight materials, small energy conservative motors, ingenious mechanicals and life-like plastics to achieve use and function unknown until recent decades. However, one area where a great deal of progress remains to be made, is in sensor mechanisms to replace or mimic an appendage, e.g., the human hand and foot as it relates to tactile sensing of position, pressure, slippage, etc. As yet no satisfactory prosthesis that can sense the above requirements has been devised, at least in a small, compact, simple form.
Many manipulative operations require actions that depend upon a sensing of pressure; a sensing of pressure in relation to an area, i.e., pressure distribution over a predetermined area; a sensing of the presence or absence of pressure over a predetermined area; the sensing of the variations in the strength of pressure in the entire area wherein pressure is being exerted; and the presence or absence of slip in relation to a pressure point or pressure area. All of the above-mentioned and other physical qualities, with attendant feedback systems, have been admirably addressed and solved by the human hand.
From the standpoint of robotics and medical prostheses, a "human hand-like" apparatus would be an extremely important and vital apparatus essential to the advancement of the art.